Holistic therapy is a complementary approach to mental health and addiction treatment that aims to heal the whole person by integrating alternative practices like yoga, meditation, art therapy, and sound healing. Rather than focusing solely on symptoms or diagnoses, holistic therapy supports overall wellness and can enhance traditional therapies by helping patients manage their stress, express their emotions, and reconnect with themselves on the path to recovery.
Read on to learn more about our holistic therapy approach or contact us to get started with treatment at our drug and alcohol rehab in Atlanta.
What Is Holistic Therapy?
Holistic therapy is an approach to addiction treatment that addresses the whole person, rather than just any one symptom or aspect of a patient’s health.
Just as the word holistic means relating to wholes or complete systems, holistic therapy integrates not just a patient’s mental and physical health, but their emotional and spiritual health as well. Acupuncture, mindfulness and meditation, yoga, art therapy, and nutritional therapy are all considered holistic, non-traditional therapies.
Holistic substance abuse treatment should not replace actual treatment from a licensed therapist. It is instead meant to complement traditional addiction therapies so as to provide a deeper level of healing and well-being.1
Elements of Holistic Therapy
Holistic therapy typically utilizes five elements of wellness to help treat “the whole person.” These five elements are:2
- Physical. Physical wellness consists of healthy habits around nutrition, sleep, exercise, and access to healthcare. This includes the creation of physical routines that align with everyday needs and responsibilities.
- Emotional. Emotional wellness involves the ability to express emotions, form healthy connections with others, cope with stressors, and maintain positivity. It includes accepting and managing one’s own thoughts and feelings in a healthy manner.
- Social. Social wellness consists of having positive, healthy, and meaningful relationships with friends, family, and the wider community. It incorporates healthy communication skills, self-respect, and showing compassion for others.
- Spiritual. Spiritual wellness consists of personal beliefs and values that provide a sense of purpose in life. While adherence to any organized religion is not required, spiritual wellness calls upon the individual to attempt connection with something larger than oneself.
- Intellectual. Intellectual wellness encourages interacting in creative and stimulating activities to expand knowledge and skills. This includes discovering one’s own potential for sharing talents and perspective with others while also taking different perspectives into consideration.
Types of Holistic Therapies
There are many different types of holistic therapy, ranging from the physical to the spiritual. Some types of holistic therapy fall under the category of traditional alternative medicine, while others are cutting-edge therapies that have been found to reduce anxiety or ease traumatic memories. Types of holistic therapy include:
- Chiropractic and osteopathic medicine
- Massage
- Hypnosis
- Body movement therapies
- Yoga, Tai Chi
- Meditation and breathwork
- Biofeedback
- Reiki
- Sound healing
- Art therapy
- Music therapy
Holistic Therapies at Empowered Recovery
Drug and alcohol addiction affects the mind as much as the body. Holistic therapy offers peace through engagement and practice.
Empowered Recovery Center in Atlanta offers different types of holistic therapy to treat patients. Our highly trained staff guides patients in their recovery on a physical, mental, and emotional level. The holistic therapies we offer are:
- Creative expressions, or art therapy, supports personal and relational treatment goals by fostering self-esteem and self-awareness, cultivating emotional resilience, and enhancing social skills. Creative expressions is offered once per week in a formal group for 60 minutes, though some facilitators incorporate art in their group meetings.
- Sound immersion (including music, meditation, and breathwork) provides an immersive experience using sound waves. The therapy is based on the idea that particular frequencies correspond to specific energy centers in the body. Sound immersion takes place once per week for 90 minutes.
- Originating in ancient India, yoga encompasses physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation to enhance patient wellness. Yoga is offered twice per week, for 90 minutes each session.
- Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation. It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the theory that an unseen “life force” flows through all people. Reiki is offered as an additional individual session, per request.
- Somatic experiencing is a therapeutic approach that focuses on resolving patient trauma and its symptoms by working with the patient’s physical sensations and movements. Somatic experiencing prioritizes the body’s experience rather than focusing on the patient’s thoughts and emotions related to past trauma. It is not offered as a formal group but utilized in various modalities, including dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), meditation, and yoga.
How Does Holistic Therapy for Addiction Work?
Holistic therapies are integrated into a patient’s addiction treatment plan to complement other, more traditional treatment methods like talk therapy and group support.
Because holistic therapy imparts methods of coping and self-care that are often new to patients in recovery, it imparts a new set of tools to help patients address and manage the mental health challenges that drove them to use drugs and alcohol in the first place. It helps people learn by doing, stay engaged in their treatment, and express difficult emotions, all of which are vital components to long-term recovery and overall wellness.4
Learning by Doing
Learning by doing, also known as experiential learning, is a form of therapy wherein patients engage in movements, activities, or experiences to process their mental health challenges. Learning by doing often utilizes techniques such as art, music, role-playing, guided imagery, or outdoor activities.
This approach aims to help people explore their feelings, confront challenges, and develop new coping methods. This therapy can be especially effective for those who struggle to express themselves verbally, or who benefit from a more hands-on approach to therapy, as opposed to a more didactic approach.5
Staying Engaged in Treatment
Finding the motivation to remain in addiction treatment is crucial to patient success. Holistic therapy can play a prominent role in keeping patients engaged in their treatment, partly because these therapies provide a break from normal therapeutic routines.
Holistic therapies can also rekindle certain hobbies and passions that may have fallen prey to the patterns linked to substance use.. Patients may feel inspired by the beauty of a natural environment or the experience of creating art or music. Such discoveries help people renew their commitment to recovery, highlighting what sustained recovery can do for them.
Expressing Difficult Emotions
The causes of substance use disorder (SUD) are complex, personal, and deeply rooted. Many patients have suppressed the complicated feelings that underlie their addictive behaviors. As a result, they may not possess the vocabulary to accurately express their feelings in a traditional talk therapy format.
Holistic therapy offers the chance for patients to express themselves in nonverbal ways, such as through art, music, or bodily movement. These creative activities can help people bypass rational thought processes to access the feelings underneath and express them symbolically or linguistically. In this way, holistic therapy can improve mental health by helping process difficult emotions and facilitating communication.6
Benefits of Holistic Therapy for Addiction
Backed by scientific research, holistic therapy offers numerous benefits for addiction recovery. One of these benefits is empowering the patient to lay a solid foundation for their long-term recovery. Other benefits of holistic therapy for addiction include:4,7
- Increased self-awareness, resilience, and sense of personal responsibility
- Healthy coping skills
- Improved communication skills
- Greater emotional intelligence
- Relief from physical and emotional dysregulation
- Greater stress tolerance
Holistic Therapy & Dual Diagnosis
SUDs, including alcohol use disorder (AUD), are a common comorbidity among those living with such mental health disorders as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The medical term for a co-occurring SUD and mental health disorder is dual diagnosis.
According to SAMHSA’s 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, more than 21 million adults in the U.S. live with a co-occurring SUD and mental health disorder. Meanwhile, people living with a mental health disorder run a higher risk of developing an SUD compared to those without.8
As one might expect, dual diagnosis can complicate the recovery process, as dual diagnosis patients are often found to be less communicative and less responsive to treatment. Further complicating recovery is the fact that specific symptoms of withdrawal from alcohol, for example, resemble specific symptoms of depression or anxiety.
Holistic therapy directly supports dual diagnosis treatment by addressing “the whole person.” Through holistic therapies, patients can locate the motivation and energy to help them be more open and communicative in their treatment.
Does Insurance Cover Holistic Rehab Therapies?
Yes, most insurance plans cover holistic drug and alcohol rehabilitation therapies to some extent. Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, behavioral health treatments are covered as essential health benefits. This includes addiction treatment, counseling, and many types of therapies.
Before seeking holistic rehab services, it’s a good idea to contact your insurance plan to get a clear idea of its coverage of specific treatment services. You may also want to inquire about the exact number of therapy hours your plan covers. The rehab admissions team at Empowered Recovery Center can also answer any questions you might have about the cost of rehab and using insurance to pay for rehab. We can even verify your benefits online or over the phone so you know what is covered.
“Everyone at ER helped me so much! I’m coming up to six months clean now which I never thought I’d manage. I can’t say thank you enough times!” – Jerry, Former Client
Holistic Therapy & Addiction Treatment in Atlanta
If you’re ready to break free from addiction and other mental health disorders to take back your life, reach out toEmpowered Recovery Center in Atlanta today. We offer a variety of rehab programs, all of which include holistic treatment services.
Whether you’re looking for partial hospitalization (PHP), intensive outpatient (IOP), or standard outpatient care, we can tailor a recovery plan that meets your unique needs and recovery goals. Plus, after you’ve completed your treatment, we stay with you by offering a full year of free recovery coaching to keep you going.
Ready to begin? Call us today!
References
- Cleveland Clinic (n.d.). Holistic Psychotherapy. Cleveland Clinic’s Health Library. Retrieved July 17, 2025, from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/departments/wellness/integrative/treatments-services/holistic-psychotherapy
- Rocky Mountain University of Health Professionals (n.d.). The 8 Dimensions of Wellness. Rocky Mountain University of Health Professionals. Retrieved July 17, 2025, from https://rm.edu/blog/the-8-dimensions-of-wellness/
- Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.) Types of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Retrieved July 17, 2025, from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/types-of-complementary-and-alternative-medicine
- VA Whole Health Library (2014). Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Complementary Approaches. Department of Veterans Affairs. Retrieved July 18, 2025, from https://www.va.gov/WHOLEHEALTHLIBRARY/tools/substance-use-disorder-treatment-complementary-approaches.asp
- U.S. National Library of Medicine (1998). Didactic and experiential education in substance abuse programs. National Institutes of Health. Retrieved July 18, 2025, from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9534126/
- U.S. National Library of Medicine. The role of emotion processing in art therapy (REPAT) intervention protocol. National Institutes of Health. Retrieved July 18, 2025, from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10343444/#S1
- U.S. National Library of Medicine (1982). Holistic Medicine: Advances and Shortcomings. National Institutes of Health. Retrieved July 19, 2025, from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1273970/?page=5#supplementary-material1
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2022). National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Retrieved July 19, 2025, from https://www.samhsa.gov/data/data-we-collect/nsduh-national-survey-drug-use-and-health/national-releases/2022
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